Cumming is the county seat of Forsyth County, GA. In recent years, Forsyth County was in the top ten fastest growing counties in the United States for several years in a row. Forbes Magazine also named it the 13th wealthiest county in the U.S. in 2008. At the turn of the 20th century, Cumming and most of Forsyth County was actually set aside for agricultural use and at that time it was too far from Atlanta to be a reasonably commutable distance. In fact, it wasn’t until 1971 when GA-400 Highway was opened that this area really began to flourish. The early history of Forsyth County is full of stories of racial tensions; but today that is water under the bridge and one would never know or see signs of what happened in the past without researching it in the history books.

Throughout the 1990’s and 2000’s, a few conditions contributed to the rapid growth of the area. Firstly, since the Atlanta Metropolitan area doesn’t really have geographically imposed boundaries such as a major body of water, the proliferation of automobiles led to a trend of many choosing to move further and further out from the city. Secondly, as land became scarcer in the northernmost part of Fulton County (Alpharetta), people began to consider south Forsyth County as somewhat of an extension of Alpharetta. Additionally, the property taxes in Forsyth County are significantly lower than those in Fulton so even those who could afford to live in Alpharetta proper began to consider South Forsyth as a wiser alternative due to the property tax savings. Both areas have superb public school systems and have been built up enough that there is no shortage of shopping and dining options without having to drive more than a couple of miles from any point.

The western part of Lake Lanier, a 37,000 acre manmade lake that allows recreational boating is located in Forsyth County and many Atlanta residents have second homes on the lakeside. Since most of the growth happened in more recent years, the Cumming area offers a plethora of relatively new and affordable master planned communities that feature amenities such as neighborhood pools, tennis courts, and several world class golf courses. However, like anything, there is always a trade-off. In exchange for getting such a beautiful home in such a beautiful community at such an affordable price, one must compromise a bit by being at the far Northern edge of what would be considered the Atlanta Metropolitan Area and travel GA-400 quite a distance to make their way into the city of Atlanta. GA-400 is notoriously one of the most congested stretches of roadway that exists in a metro area that has a reputation for having really bad traffic. For those that are lucky enough to live work locally or in nearby Alpharetta, it can be a wonderful place to live.